Mississippi State DL Jeffery Simmons expresses remorse over hitting woman: 'Don't do what I did'

Long before he ever had a chance to make a name for himself as an up-and-coming football player in the SEC, Mississippi State signee Jeffery Simmons made headlines for the wrong reason. The five-star recruit was filmed repeatedly punching a woman on the ground that earned him a one-game suspension.

While many questioned whether MSU should have given Simmons a chance to redeem himself after the ugly incident, the freshman lived up to his recruiting hype and quickly developed into one of Mississippi State’s rising defenders heading into his sophomore season. Now heading into his first spring camp in Starkville, Simmons was asked about his experiences dealing with the aftermath of his poor decision.

“Basically I just used the help of my teammates, everybody around this university just to help me,” Simmons said Tuesday. “I just say I thank Coach Mullen, he was one of my leaders to help me, talk to me, everything will be good. Just focus on football.”

Simmons was then asked if it was difficult to block out all the noise surrounding him and the negative reaction to his one-game suspension.

“I did what I had to do on and off the field,” Simmons answered. “Just focus. That was the thing, and put it in God’s hands.”

The rising sophomore was then asked how remorseful he was for what happened during that tough-to-watch video.

“Like I said, I live and learn,” Simmons said. “If I could go back and re-do it all I could do it over again, don’t do what I did. Like I said, live and learn. So I regret doing it, but live and learn from it.”

While Mississippi State’s reaction to the Simmons’ video may have led to a head-scratching suspension, the young MSU defender has kept a low profile off the field since arriving in Starkville. Should he continue to do so, as well as continue to progress on the field, Simmons could be the latest example of a player worth giving a second chance.

Comments

Anyone who behaves this way doesn’t simply grow up in one year. This is a lifestyle he was born into. You don’t just accidentally find yourself in a nasty hood like the one this situation took place in. He’s just another Michael Brown-type, worthless ape if you ask me. No, I’m not buying his bullsh*t. For those who will defend him, just know this is my opinion and I’m sticking to it. I bet more people agree with what I’m saying than would defend this woman-beating thug. The fact that he’s a 5 star football player has nothing to do with character or morals. We saw plenty of that in the video.

What part is racist? You’re saying I’M racist because YOU think of an African American when YOU read the word “ape”? How is that my fault? Wouldn’t this thought of YOUR’S make you racist? I called him an ape because he was out of control and didn’t care what was right or wrong.

Bunker—did u really say that. I mean dang that’s harsh. Now, no one in their right mind could condone what was done. However, u weren’t there and u don’t know what led up to it. Regardless, what was done was wrong. I get that. But I also know in the heat of the moment if say ur mom or sister were involved n a brawl, especially when u were a teenager, you may get caught up in it and you forget about chivalry. The other aspect of this is that in today’s society of women’s lib and so forth, the lines of distinction have definitely been blurred. Women r boxing, are n mma, and r trying to fight in coed platforms. Again, I was raised to know better but I’m certainly not going to go as far as U and judge somebody I don’t know based off of one 30 sec YouTube video. If he keeps his nose clean and continues to grow as a man then more power to him. The world will b a better place. If he has another incident then I’ll call it a trend and b right behind you.

lmao wow Bunker. A lifestyle he was born into….I love the fatalistic amatuer physicatric and social evaluations of players that always gets shared in the comment boards. You don’t really know anything about this kid or the situation, and you obviously aren’t open to hearing about it. “this is my opinion and I’m sticking to it”…. what good does that do? Speaking of horrible mindsets, sheesh. And actually, being born into a “nasty hood” IS something you accidentally find yourself in, unless there was some way to choose what parents you are born to that the rest of us missed out on. like ddawg said, the “lines of distinction” have been blurred, and I most certainly would not watch someone beat on my mother or sister in a parking lot without intervening, simply based on their genitalia. Interesting that you used the term “ape”…. considering the fact our species FALLS UNDER THAT VERY UMBRELLA. In fact, physical violence as a means of settling disputes is as much a human characteristic as it is of any species. We’ve been bludgeoning each other since the dawn of time. All of these rules and arbitrary distinctions we make about who and when you can bludgeon are relatively new anyways. That being said, I don’t think anyone should resort to physical violence. But if someone were to attack me or mine, I surely would not be concerned with genitalia before protecting me and mine. Same for Mixon, in a way. These individuals were processed by our legal system and the issue has been resolved. No one cares when a football player fights another guy…. just boys being boys…. well, says I, if a woman behaves “like a man” (society’s interpretation, not mine) and wants to throw punches, she has already excused herself from whatever protection our bassackwards chivalric system afforded her anyways. Violence=bad. But don’t fall so easily into this bizzarre categorization whereby black football players who are involved in altercations are “worthless thugs”. Weird that you never see articles or criticism phrased this way regarding Manziel or Kelly, who have been in brawls and been in drug trouble. Even if you didn’t refrain from using that language about them as well, surely you are aware of the situation.